Get Out Guide

Did someone say three-day weekend?!

Published May 28, 2010, 9:00am

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Well, it’s finally here: A looooong weekend. I know I could use one. The office has been a bit of a bear this week. But now that I’ve blown the cobwebs off my blog, it’s high time to get you caught up on your to-do list for this weekend, so I’ll just get right down to it.

Calling all Campers First up, for all the campers out there who are sorely wishing that they hadn’t neglected to make reservations for that coveted campsite this weekend, take heart. There are still some options out there. But you to need to act fast (like right now). More than 20 of Oregon’s state parks operate on a first come first serve basis. You can check your list of options here. And you can also call 800-551-6949 for updates on vacancies. So get cracking, you never know what you might come up with.

Party at Stub’s About 15 miles of mountain biking trails exist out at LL Stub Stewart State Park for your riding pleasure. And you can get a good sample of them this weekend with Northwest Trail Alliance. The group is planning a beginner-friendly, 4-mile ride near the Hilltop Day Use parking area. And for the truly gung-ho, you can slap on some work gloves and show up tomorrow for the group’s trail building work party which aims to complete a new loop in the park this weekend.

Dog Days The end of May is peak season for many a wildflower hotspot in the Gorge, the most popular being the stunning trek up Dog Mountain. You won’t be alone on your journey up this quad-burner, but the Gorge views are just stupendous. And the flower display—which includes lupines, yellow balsamroot, larkspur and paintbrushes—seldom disappoints. But for those seeking another more under-the-radar option, there’s the Cape Horn trail, a 7.8-mile loop that will deliver a fair share of flowery interludes, not to mention views of Larch Mountain, Angel’s Rest and a delightfully crowd-free perspective of Multnomah Falls.

Deal Makers If it’s turning out to be more of a just-kick-it-around-town type weekend (you know, maybe, checking out that little thing called the Rose Festival), then it’d be well worth your time to drop by Oregon Mountain Community, for their Memorial Day sale. A quick perusal of the goods reveals deep discounts on everything from Osprey packs to Patagonia boxers. (Seriously, you know you could use another pair.)

Tour de Hut Lastly, here’s some advance notice on your next big outing: Cascade Huts is now accepting reservations for their summer operation. Thanks to the positioning of their three backcountry huts, you can link up a 3 to 4-day 135 to 160-mile, mapped bike route loop around Mount Hood and have a place to crash each night. The planned route, which travels mainly on Forest Service roads begins and ends in Hood River, and presents outstanding singletrack options like Surveyors Ridge and Gunsight Ridge each day. That is of course, if you plan now.